According to data released by the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND), by 2020, the number of people seeking international protection in the Netherlands has significantly decreased by 40%. 

According to the latest IND report, nearly 14,000 people applied for asylum in the Netherlands for the first time last year. Syrian citizens are most interested in seeking asylum in the country. 

In the second quarter, when the coronavirus pandemic began to spread widely in other countries, the number of applications decreased significantly, and many countries decided to impose entry restrictions and other prohibitions to stop the further spread of the virus. 

In the same quarter, the number of asylum applications was 1,255, a decrease of about 76% compared to the same period last year. 

Since 2013, the Netherlands recorded the largest decline in the number of international protection applications in April 2020 (270).